Read more at The New York Times

When applying to VIA, I listed this as a future concern that Vietnam would one day face. China’s economic growth in low-skill labor markets and education were impressive, but where were the high-skill jobs that students were training for? I argued that the education of students was far outpacing the actual growth of white-collar jobs by merely comparing graduation numbers to the number of jobs available. Vietnam, I believed, would be heading in the same direction.

It talks about the negative perceptions associated with teaching (100%) online, strategies for organizing and designing courses, and some best practices. I found the article interesting but also still have the impression of online courses as being of a traditional classroom size of roughly 24-30 students. For larger, near 100-student classes, the same strategies can still be applied. We just have to remember to split them into smaller, more manageable parts. I think this is physically done well in Vietnam with class monitors/leaders for each “unit”, but this same setup could also be used online- i.e. course website assistants and forum moderators.

I’m still not convinced of 100% online courses- I prefer the hybrid version I experienced in Vietnam- but this may be due to lack of experience on my part. Or, like the article says, I just may not be suited to teach online-only courses.

It’s an interesting read. ‘Would love to hear your thoughts.

A trip to Mai Chau in 2008 with the A4 class.

Ideally, I would like to create my own design and pull my other projects in. Deciding which domain to use seems to be the first hurdle for me to overcome. I have three that I really like, but I should be rational and use bensonchu.com. Why not? I have a pet project that never got off the ground. It still lingers in my mind and, like all pet projects, no one ever wants to see it fizz out.

The logical thing to do is to redesign bensonchu.com. The other site is just not ready.

Simple. Decision made.

Now for the hard part- the look.

We’ll see how long this takes.

I am writing to let you know about Blue Dragon’s emergency relief efforts following Typhoon Ketsana.

The typhoon struck central Vietnam on September 29. At least 163 people were killed by the storm, and over 6000 homes were completely washed away.

Blue Dragon has long been working in two areas of central Vietnam, Hoi An town and Hue province, where the typhoon hit. We are relieved to report that none of the families we are working with lost their lives as a result of the typhoon.

Sadly, however, almost all of the families and children we work with in those areas have been badly affected.

Hoi An Town

In Hoi An, where Blue Dragon runs the Hoi An Children’s Home, a flash flood caused by a collapsed dam resulted in the loss of many personal items belonging to the 30 kids living there. Thanks to some private donations from around the world, we have been able to replace those lost clothes, books, and personal effects.

Hue Province

In Hue, the typhoon was much more devastating. Many homes lost their roofs or were destroyed totally. Some families lost everything they owned.

Immediately after the typhoon, Blue Dragon worked with the United Nations International School (UNIS) to deliver rice, noodles, and other essentials to over 300 families in coastal areas of Hue province. We were careful to ensure that we were delivering emergency supplies to families who were in the greatest need, and had not received support from any other agency.

Follow-up

Almost a month has passed, but the situation in Hue province remains dire. Hue airport has been closed recently due to flooding, as storms continue to cause havoc. Many roads remain impassable.

One consequence of this ongoing disaster is that impoverished fishing families from coastal areas have been unable to go to work for a full month. This is leading to widespread hunger in many areas of Hue.

As I write, Blue Dragon staff are in Hue distributing over 4.5 tons of rice and noodles, which have been funded by the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Ho Chi Minh City. We are also providing families with simple water filtration systems which will provide clean drinking water for at least 2 years.

What’s next?

Everyone is hoping that the rain will ease and the floods start to recede soon. Once that happens, Blue Dragon will start helping families to rebuild damaged or destroyed homes.

At the moment, we have enough money for the ‘emergency relief’ phase of this work, but we would welcome donations to help us with the repair and rebuilding that will take place over the coming months. You can visit our website if you wish to donate – www.streetkidsinvietnam.com – or email us on info@bdcf.org.

See for yourself

The Blue Dragon blog – www.vietnamstreets.blogspot.com – has some photos of the affected areas, as well as images of our relief work.

With sincere thanks for your support,

Michael Brosowski
Director
Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation

I found the recipe two weeks ago so we planned on cooking it one of these weekends. I decided that that weekend would be during her birthday. She wanted me to meet two of her best friends and thought that that day would be best. During the week, I’m often busy and too tired to entertain company.

Since it was her birthday, I wanted to get everything right. I woke up early that Saturday (10 AM) and got ready to meet her for lunch and go shopping for ingredients. She was already busy with friends and had to meet me later. That left me with the shopping.

First grocery store: Western Canned Goods Store, 1. Beef broth. None. Tomato paste. None. Diced tomatoes? None.

Go to second store.

Second grocery store: Trang Tien Plaza. Bread. Check. Buns. Check. Potatoes. Check. Roma tomatoes. Check. (Is that how you spell “potatoes”? Potatos. Yep, it’s right. There’s a red line on this version.) Onions. Check. Garlic. That’s at home. Check. Dark beer. Too expensive. Pass. Proceed to checkout.

Head home. Drop things off.

Third grocery store: Big C. Ground beef. Awww, this is going to be expensive. Check. Beef sirloin. My vocabulary isn’t that good, but this looks like it. Check. Hotdogs. One of these brands I don’t like. Three of one brand. Two… of the brand.. I think I don’t like… Check. Tomato paste… Nope. Diced tomatoes… Nope. Spices… Too expensive. I think I have some at home. I’m pretty sure we do. Pass. Beef broth… Beef broth… Nope. Dark beer. Will be too heavy if I buy a lot of stuff. Pass.

Go home to drop things off. Waiting for bus. Waiting for bus. Waiting for bus. Finally! Transfer to second bus. Waiting for bus. Waiting for bus. Waiting for bus. Get on a different bus that might go in the same direction. Damnit! It’s turning! …Wait, I know this street. Get off and wait for third bus. Short wait. Get on; head home.

Unexpected stop.

Fourth grocery store: Western Canned Goods Store, 2. Diced tomatoes. Too expensive. Pass. Tomato paste. Too expensive… I think. Pass. Beef broth… Nope.

Fifth grocery store: Citimart. Diced tomatoes. Expensive… but running out of time. Buy. Tomato paste. Expensive… but… Buy. Dark beer. Yikes!… Buy. Beef broth… Beef broth… Dangit! They don’t have it! Coca Cola. Buy. Fanta. Buy. Bargain with xe om to get a ride home.

Xe Om: 15,000 VND.

Me: 10,000..? Okay.

She’s already at the house- washing her hair. Not making that up. I start cutting onions, garlic, and tomatoes. The cooking is finally starting and I find almost all of the spices needed in the cupboard. However, no beef broth. I think that was a crucial ingredient… One thing I failed to do was compensate for it. I still added the 1/2 cup of brown sugar… Dang… The chili had a sweet taste to it, and I don’t mean cool. We managed to add in salt and other spices to counterbalance the sweetness. In the end it turned out “binh thoung”.

The guests arrive and the meal starts off quite. This is not how a chili dinner is supposed to sound. They were all very new to the experience, minus my girlfriend and roommate. I thought someone was going to hurl because it’s not exactly what Vietnamese people usually eat. They don’t like to mix their foods, and with chili… well, it is what it is. And if you think about it, to the untrained eye, it looks like something else. In the end, my girlfriend’s two best friends praised my dish washing and were able to finish their servings of chili with a polite smile. My Chinese friend gave it a try and said it was too different for him. My Vietnamese friend who eats a lot of Western food loved it. The roommate loved it. My best friend says, “It’s good. Not really spicy, though. It tastes a little bit like Thai food.” Hmm… not what I was going for.

In the end, I think the recipe is still good. If I had the right ingredients and side dishes- especially if I had Frito chips- it would’ve been a blast. I’ll have to try making it again, but only when I have all the ingredients. It did teach me one thing though, chili is too much of an ethnic American food to be served as an introductory meal to people that have had little exposure to American food. Next time, I’ll have to go with turkey, pizza, or burgers.

VIA offers two types of programs:

1. Summer Programs – for undergraduates or graduates

VIA has four summer programs in China, Indonesia and Vietnam that focus on cultural exchange. These are small group programs designed for college undergrads but open to all US-resident adults.

• Bali Service-Learning Program (Indonesia) — Live with Balinese families, study language and culture and volunteer in the community and with local non-profits.
• Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine (China) –Learn about Traditional Chinese Medicine while sharing perspectives about Western Medicine.
• Teach-in-Hue (Vietnam) — Learn about Vietnamese culture and development while teaching English and volunteering at local non-profits.
• Viet-Am (Vietnam) — Explore your Vietnamese-American heritage while teaching English and learning about community development.

Summer program fees range from $500 to $2400 and include training, accommodation, staff support, insurance, and more. Program fees exclude international airfare. VIA offers financial assistance to reduce the program fee for those who qualify.

2. Long-Term Volunteer Positions – for anyone with a BA by summer 2009

VIA offers year-long (extendable) volunteer positions teaching English and/or working with community non-profit organizations in the following countries:

* Cambodia
* China
* Indonesia
* Laos
* Myanmar
* Thailand
* Vietnam

For long-term volunteer positions, you must be a US resident and you must have a BA by summer 2009, but you need not have Asian language skills. Visit www.viaprograms.org for details.

Program fee for the long-term volunteer positions is $2000 and includes extensive training, housing, living stipend, travel within Asia and back to the US, insurance, and much more. Program fee excludes initial flight from US to Thailand (for training), plus other miscellaneous expenses. VIA offers a few select fellowships. VIA also offers financial assistance to reduce the program fee for those who qualify.

What is VIA?

VIA (Volunteers in Asia) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization headquartered in San Francisco that aims to increase understanding between the US and Asia through programs promoting cross-cultural education and service. For more information, please visit the VIA website at www.viaprograms.org or e-mail us at info@viaprograms.org.

The streets were crowded; motorbikes everywhere. The closer we got to the lake, the more dense the crowd got. There’s 10 minutes to midnight and I’m exchanging text messages with friends to meet up before the countdown starts. There are so many people at the lake and I’m expecting, at least, a very big fireworks show. Along with the New Year’s Eve, there’s also a flower festival going on at the lake, and this is it’s first day. Many displays are set up like artwork along the street and people are posing for pictures. I try to meet up with my friends but it’s impossible to catch anyone in the crowd.

By now it’s 11:57 so my girlfriend and I move toward the lake to get a better view. Everyone seems to have the same idea. As we wait, we watch lanterns being lit and flying higher into the sky.

11:59. We’re all waiting and looking around for a sign of some announcer, countdown, or sign of fireworks.

I look at my phone. 12:00. Then I look at my girlfriend and everyone around, but they look as confused as me. Then I thought, “Well, this is Vietnam. Things do start a little late, here.”

12:07. Hmm… I’m really confused at this point. The couple next to us basically says, “Well… nothing’s happening. Time to go home.” And they left. Soon after, everyone had the same idea and the crowd started to disperse. My girlfriend in her infinite wisdom says, “Because of the inflation, Vietnam is too cheap to spend money on fireworks. You have to wait until Tet (Vietnamese New Year’s). Poor you.”

After a few more minutes of standing around, we start walking up the street to look at the flowers and finally meet up with my friends. The night ends with some food and drinks. No countdown, but good enough for me.

The below prices are from my favorite pho place to eat at in Ha Noi. It can be found at Pho Am Thuc, facing Tran Phu street.

Yikes.